High School Romance
by RanXNao
Summary: Before Tenzin married Pema, he had eyes for another. Pema grew desparate fro his attention, but it seemed as though there were no one to tear Tenzin and Lin apart. She knew she had to do something. . .Warning: lots of fan theories. Tenlin, Pemzin.
1. Intro

It's strange, being a non-bender in a bending world. It's even stranger being in love with the son of the greatest bender in the world. I've always loved him, but he's had eyes for another. Another child of another powerful bender. How can I compete with that?

Their parents have ties, they did save the world after all. I'm sure Avatar Aang would love it if son decided to marry the daughter of a powerful Earth bender. There's nothing special about me, just an average Air Acolyte. Average height. Average intelligence. Average looks.

Lin, on the other hand, is beautiful. She has her mother's looks and skills. And she knows she's better than me. She looks down on me. I get flustered around Tenzin, and she's always there to see me mess up. It's difficult being a non-bender around such powerful benders.


	2. Chapter 1: The Air Acolyte

Years after Fire lord Ozai's defeat, Aang began to work toward rebuilding his lost nation. The leaders of every nation were willing to help the Avatar recreate what was destroyed by Fire lord Sozin. My parents were average citizens in the Earth. We lived in a small house in Ba Sing Se. The Earth King held a rally one morning, asking for volunteers to help carry out the Air Nomad's long dormant culture. My father was a history buff and jumped at the chance to learn first-hand about the Avatar's culture. We were then known as Air Acolytes.

It was different, but I enjoyed it. More importantly, I enjoyed being around Tenzin. You could tell he was the Avatar's son. He was wise beyond his years from the knowledge he had learned from his father. Tenzin wasn't rowdy like the boys my age back in the Earth Kingdom. He was sophisticated, and spoke politely to everyone. Sometimes Aang would joke that Tenzin was too serious to be his son.

The Acolytes had a lot of help, which was great because not a lot of people felt comfortable leaving their nations. The Bei Fong family helped out a lot with funding, so we could get the supplies we needed. It was a peaceful time, despite the opposition. But I suppose there will always be some form of opposition everywhere.

"Tenzin!" I shout out towards the young man. He was busy, but somehow always found time to talk to me.

"Pema," He stood up with a smile. "How are you this morning?"

"I'm fine, am I interrupting?" Of course I knew I was, but I just like hearing him say he's never too busy for me.

"No, not at all." He dropped the brush he had behind his back. "I was painting."

"Painting?" I peeked nonchalantly behind him. On the ground were several boards. He and a few others were working on restoring some of the artifacts; this must be his latest project. "What are they?"

"My father says they are called 'air bending gates'," He glanced down at them, "Though, I'm not sure what they do exactly."

"Oh."

"But I guess we'll see soon." He smiled at me once more. I love his smile; I love to see him happy.

"Um . . . Tenzin?"

"Ye-" He was cut off by a far call.

"Tenzin!" A loud girl came land surfing toward us, it was Lin Bei Fong. She halted to a stop, just inches away from Tenzin. "How's the work coming along?"

"Everything's going great, Lin."

_I hate Lin._

"That's good, mother came to talk to the Avatar so I thought I'd stop by and say hello."

_I can drag Tenzin from his work. . ._

"I'm sure he's happy to see her, she's been so busy these past few years."

_But Lin is a different story._

"Yeah, so do you need me to help you with anything?"

_She doesn't even acknowledge my presence_.

"Hmm, I'm not sure. Everything's under control."

_Hello? Did I turn into a ghost or something?_

"Well, then how about you take a break?"

_. . ._

"A break, huh? It's been awhile since I took time to relax."

_. . ._

"Good, then you can treat me to a bowl of noodles."

_. . ._

"Ha-ha, Lin you don't change, do you?"

_. . ._

"Nope." She grinned joyfully, knowing that I was standing there wanting some alone time with Tenzin.

"Oh," He paused before taking a step, "Pema, did you need something?"

"No, enjoy your noodles." I bowed, so he couldn't see my eyes glaze over with tears. He placed a hand on my shoulder and told me he would 'catch up with me' and the two walked away. I stayed in that position until I could stop my tears.

Why would he say that to me? Especially when he walks away with another girl. Is he just too dense to see? Or does he not just care? I know he's not my boyfriend, but I can't stand to see him with another girl. I want him to eat noodles with me. I want him to look at me the way he looks at Lin.

I sat down and looked at the board Tenzin was painting. Picking up the brush, I wiped my face and began painting the border he was working on.


	3. Chapter 2: A Noble Nomad

I spent most of the morning working on the gates for my father; it was nice when Lin asked me out for lunch. Unfortunately, lunch lasted until dinner. I sighed as I walked back to the little hill I had been working at. I really wanted to finish one of the boards for my father. I was determined.

The sun began to set as I finally made it on top of the hill where the boards lay. But they were not alone. The board I was painting earlier today was cradled in the arms of another. Pema. Had she been here all day? I wondered as I looked at the board, she finished painting it for me.

"Pema," I leaned down and whispered, "wake up." She did not respond, she must be a heavy sleeper. I shook her shoulder, "Pema!"

"hnnh?" She blinked; her golden eyes were still half asleep.

"Pema, are you alright?"

"Tenzin?" She sat up and blinked once more.

"It's getting late; you'll catch a cold if you sleep outside like this."

"I'm sorry, Tenzin."

"For what?"

"Sometimes, I feel like such a bother." She blushed.

"No, not at all." I helped her to her feet, "Here, let me walk you home." She didn't make another sound until we arrived. Then she only said what was expected, 'thank you'. I bowed and walked home. It was quiet. It felt calm, yet nerve wracking. Pema's house wasn't far from mine; right now I wished it was a longer walk. Did I do something to upset her? If so, how do I know what I did? And how do I apologize?

"Tenzin!" My father called from the door, I only have been outside the door for a few minutes. Could he know something wasn't right? He just smiled, signaling me to come inside.

"Father?"

"How was your day, Tenzin?" He closed the door behind me.

"Alright, except. . ."

"Except what?"

"I think Pema is upset." I shrugged my shoulders, "I'm not sure why."

"Don't think about it so much, maybe she's just stressed."

"Yeah . . . maybe."

"You should get some sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow."

"Yes, good night father."

"Night, Tenzin."


End file.
